


Bedtime is High-O'Clock

by SpaceNightwing



Series: Marijuana Fic Trade [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Family Bonding, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Humor, Marijuana, Pringles, Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Shiro (Voltron) Needs a Hug, Sleep, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 03:16:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13226982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceNightwing/pseuds/SpaceNightwing
Summary: When Shiro's nightmares cause him to do something unthinkable, Lance has an idea as to help him get some rest. A duck is unexpectedly involved.





	Bedtime is High-O'Clock

**Author's Note:**

> I was thinking about how weed needs to be legalized already (I don't smoke but this is ridiculous!) and all the health benefits that can come from smoking it. Then, because my mind never seems to exist without a fandom present, I though of Shiro and his PTSD and how marijuana could help with PTSD symptoms.  
> I shared the idea with my friend @shir-oh-no and it spiraled from there.  
> Here is my fic for her!

Why does Keith annoy him so much? At this point, their arguing is mostly used to fill time. So when Lance runs into Keith on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night, the only natural response is to start bugging the red paladin. 

"Why are you following me?" Lance asks as he shoves Keith in the shoulder.

"You don't have monopoly over the bathroom, asshole," Keith says back, interrupted slightly by a yawn. 

Lance is about to fire one of his less then stellar comebacks, but his words stop dead in his throat as the screams of shear pain fill the corridor. A zillion scenarios begin to run through Lance's head; everything from a hostile break in, a training section going horribly wrong, or even Hunk burning his hand on some late night cookies excursion. The fact that the castle's alert system had not gone off yet gives Lance slight reassurance, but the possibility of sabotage or delayed responses are still in his mind. Whatever the case, neither paladin misses a beat. Their bickering drops and they become the team members of Voltron, their priorities completely in sync. The bathroom is forgotten entirely as they rush for the source of the screams, preparing for anything. 

It dawns on Lance how often he takes for grant it the sheer size of the massive Castle. He and Keith quickly become turned around in areas of the castle they are still unfamiliar with as the screams travel and bounce off walls. They're not sure how long they've been searching. It could have been 5 minutes or an hour. But either way, the screaming hasn't stopped. The only thing on the blue and red paladins mind was being ready for the worst. 

Keith is finally able to get some direction when another voice is added. This voice is speaking, but the words are impossible to make out. "Follow me!" He yells as he heads for the main lounge. Lance follows without question. 

The moment the two enter the room, they take up defensive stances. Adrenaline running high, it takes them both a second to take in the scene before them. Hunk is starting by the U shaped couch, speaking rapidly to whatever is below him. He looks up and his eyes go wide as he sees the new arrivals. 

"Help him!" Hunk cries. 

Lance walk around to the other side of the couch to stand next to Hunk. Keith approaches the back in case something were to go wrong. 

The source of the screaming is a sleeping Shiro. Well, sleeping isn't the right word. He's thrashing, kicking and in the middle of a cold sweat. But above all, that scream. No one was present when the Galra took his arm, but Lance has an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach that that scream is probably very similar to when the amputation happened. 

"What's happening?!" Pidge yells as she comes running into the room, tripping on electrical wires she had probably been messing with before hand. Allura and Coran follow closely behind. 

Hunk yells "He won't wake up!" He has his hands firmly of Shiro's shoulders as if trying to physically pull their leader out of his own personal hell. 

They all take turns trying to stop the nightmare, shaking and hitting Shiro intermittently. Nothing works. In fact, it makes things worse. Each hit becomes stronger then the last as the group becomes more and more desperate for a result. Soon, Shiro's random thrashes begins synchronized attacks against their attempts to wake him. 

Lance gets an idea from the cartoons he used to watch as a kid. One of his brothers did something similar to him when he was little, resulting in wetting the bed and a scolding from his mother. He runs to the kitchen and come back with a full glass of ice water. "Back up," he says to the others crowed around Shiro. They do, but stand close at hand just in case. 

The moment the water hits Shiro's face, his eyes fly open. His prosthetic arms lights up to a deep purple with the power of the druids and lashes out at the closest thing to him: Hunk's left exposed flank.

Hunk, surprised and in pain, falls back, hitting his head in the landing. A choir of voices yell out "Hunk!" "Dude!" "No!" as everyone makes a scramble for something different. Allura and Coran rush to Hunk as Lance, Keith, and Pidge rush to constrain Shiro, which, given his size, muscle mass and adrenaline filled strength, is a much harder task then anyone of them though. 

"Shiro!" Pidge yells. "Calm down!" He doesn't respond; still has a wild look in his eye like he's about to bolt, the arm still glowing. 

Keith lets go and slaps the black paladin across the face. "Snap out of it!" 

Slowly, Shiro begins to gather his bearings. He takes deep, fast breaths as his adrenaline levels even out and the glow of his arm dies out. He looks around to find three of his friends holding him and his other one on the floor bleeding. He looks as his hand and sees more red that shouldn't be there. Given that he isn't in pain, he knows the blood isn't his. 

"Oh, god...." is the only thing he can bring himself to say. Pure guilt and shame fills his lungs, as if he's drowning in his own body. How could he hurt Hunk? The one with the biggest heart and the one who wouldn't hurt a fly. How could he hurt any of his team mates? His family? 

Shiro makes a move to stand, but his team still holds him back just in case. When he assures him that he's in the clear, he stands and walks over to Hunk, whom is new sitting up straight but still cradling his side. Shiro squats next to the yellow paladin. "Hunk, I am so-"

"Don't even start," Hunk interrupts. "It's not your fault." When Shiro doesn't respond, Hunk pushes on. "Shiro, look at me. This is not your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for. You understand?" Of course Hunk would say that. It's just like the big guy to comfort those around him, even when he's hurt. 

Just for argument sake, Shiro nods his head, even though he knows how much of a lie that is. Shiro hurt his friend. There's not getting around that. But he's not going to pick a fight at a time like this. Right now, Hunk's well being is the number one concern. 

"He'll be alright," Coran says, examining the wound. "30 minutes at most in the cryo-pod, and he'll be good as new. Could have been a lot worse. This is nothing." The wince the escapes from Hunk's lips says other wise, but again, Shiro doesn't want to argue. 

He can't be here, surrounded by everyone. He backs away heading for the door. "I'm, uh, I'm sorry." Its the only thing Shiro can even manage to say. He's not normally one to run from conflict, but if he doesn't get out of there soon, the guilt will close in on him, not matter what Hunk says. He needs to leave. 

"Where are you going?" Pidge asks. 

"I'll be fine. Just, please, leave me alone." The desperation in his voice keeps everyone from producing Shiro down the hall. 

* * *

30 minutes later, Hunk is out of the cryo-pod, sitting at the banquet table with everyone except the Black paladin. Shiro has been at the training deck since he woke up to ice water on his face, working his frustration and shame out with the Gladiator. The remaining six members of team Voltron sit in silence, each waiting for someone else to say something first. Finally, Allura speaks up. "Does anyone have the slightest idea as to what is happening to Shiro?"  

Hunk quickly interjects, "it's not like it's his fault. And it's not like this is the first time this has happened."

"It may not be the first time Shiro's nightmares have kept him trapped in his own mind, but this is the first time someone has gotten hurt. Something is happening to him. I don't appreciate not knowing what."

After a moment, Keith speaks up. "I'm no psychologist, but what are the chances that his time as a prisoner left him with PTSD?" 

Pidge's breath catches in her throat. She knows it selfish, but she can't help it. Every time Shiro has one of his episodes, either awake or sleep, she can't help herself from wondering what horrors her brother and father have experienced at the hands of the Galra. What horrors they are still experiencing? Shiro is the only connection she has to them. He's a window into their well being. If tonight was any indication.... she has to find her family. 

She hates herself for thinking this way. Her biological family, as much as she hates it, can't be helped at the current moment. Her new family not only needs help, but she has the capacity to do something about it. Yet, her mind is preoccupied with thoughts of her brother. She's caught in a guilt cycle, stuck between her two families. It makes the rabbit hole look easy to escape from.

"What is PTSD?" Allura asks. 

Keith leans back into his chair as he answers, "post traumatic stress disorder. Basically, you relive and remember traumatic events long after they happen. Some of the symptoms can be manifested in night terrors. You guys ever notice how he'll freeze in a fight every now and then? He tends to recover quickly, but it happens."

"That's what that is?" Hunk questions. "I always though he was deciding his best options." 

"I mean, I don't know for sure. It's just a guess." 

After a silent moment, Allura asks, "assuming Shiro has this PTSD, what can be done?" 

Immediately, Lance gets an idea. Back home, many of the people in his neighborhood were retired Vietnam or Iraq vets that suffered from PTSD. They all had different ways of coping with it. But most tended to agree on one thing....

"I've got an idea!" Lance jumps up from his seat and runs to the hall. 

Pidge calls after him, "Lance-"

"Trust me!" 

* * *

 

"Ahhh!" Shiro's frustrated yell echoes off the training deck walls and ceiling. The Gladiator has gotten the best of him again, and given the scope of his nightmare, it's no surprise he's off his A game. 

"Run hostage simulation, Alpha Delta 6," he orders. The combat robot collects itself and sets the simulation again. 

At the end of the hall, there are two holographic figures, a young girl wrapped in the arms of what is probably her mother. The goal is simple enough: stay alive long enough to reach the pair and bring them to the safety zone on the opposite side of the room. However, Shiro set the robot to "kill on sight" mode and he's fighting for his life with every simulation.

The Black Paladin squares up his options, eyes moving between the killing robot and the hostages. Logically, he knows he should walk away. This drill isn't worth anything beyond earning more bruises.  But Shiro has to beat it. The two holographic tech figures aren't randomly generated pictures of code; not to him. Every time he looks at them, he seems Pidge and Keith, or Lance and Hunk, or Matt and professor Holt. He sees someone he's failed, someone he's hurt. He must make it to the hostages. He has to. 

And just like that, Shiro is trapped back in his dream. The day he earned the name Champion and the druids took their first interest in him. The day dream takes him step by step: from hurting Matt in order to save him to defeating the monster in the arena to the witch, Hagar, approaching his cell door afterward and taking him to the experimentation room. Finally, to his arm being taken. Not only did they violate him in ways he never dreamed, there wasn't any anesthetic. Not even numbing jell, assuming that could even do anything. He relives every cut and breaking bone. He relives the intensity of having the new cybernetic prosthesis fused to his remaining flush, muscle, and bone, frying and rewiring nerve endings. His one saving grace through all of it is knowing he probably saved Matt from this. 

All this flashes in his mind in seconds. The day dream is shattered when the training robot slammed into Shiro's chest, knocking the wind out of is lungs. When he gets some air back, he yells "terminate simulation!" He's pissed, but he's forced to end it without having the the chance to even strike, or risk being decapitated. The robot powers down and the holographic hostages fade away. He's alone on the training deck. 

As Shiro works to get his breathing back under control, he tries, and fails, to release some of his anger. He know it's a ridiculous train of though, given the hostages are holograms. But maybe, just maybe, if he could beat this simulation, he could save the Holts, assuming they're not already dead. He's just got to get over the damned nightmares first. 

* * *

Shrio's starting to get worried. He spent about 3 hours beating up the Gladiator (or getting beat up by it?) before his shame and anger finally started to simmer down. When he was done, he wasn't surprised to learn that team Voltron had had a meeting about him. What was surprising was Lance's leave of absence for so long. Coran had been, and still is, tracking the Blue Lions's coordinates like always, so it's not like they don't know where he was. But the amount of time Lance has been gone is what's getting to Shiro. Had he scared his team mate that much? He felt if there was anyone who had the most right be afraid, it was Hunk. Then again, they had all seen him at one of his worst moments. Lance, Pidge and Keith had had to hold him back like an animal. Maybe he really was the monster the druids had made him out to be.  

After another hour, the Blue Lion finally arrives back in its hanger bay. Lance emerges and orders everyone to gather in the main lounge.  _The same room I attacked Hunk,_ Shiro can't help but think. Someone, probably Coran, had cleaned Hunk's blood out of the carpet, which slightly took away from the reality of hurting the big lug. Even still, its hard to get the image of a bleeding Hunk out of his head. 

When everyone is gathered on the couch, they all look to Lance standing in front of them like the showman he is. The blue paladin is grinning from ear to ear, eyeing Shiro with a look that makes him somewhat uncomfortable. What does this goober have planed? 

"So," Lance starts, "Shiro, it's no secret that you need help."

"I don't need-"

"You need help." Everyone interrupted in unison. Shiro huffed in defeat. 

Lance continues, "I know a lot of vets back home who suffer from PTSD and-" 

"I don't have-"

"You have PTSD."

"Not true."

"You kinda have it."

"Stop lying." 

These guys just can't give him a break, can they? He hates being on the hot seat like this. It takes all of his will power not to bury his head in his hands. 

"The vets tend to agree that, while it's not a cure, Mary Jane tends to help a ton with the anxiety and nightmares," Lance explains. 

Allura asks, "who is this Mary Jane?" 

"No, princess," Lance goes on. "Mary Jane is slang for marijuana."

Allura and Coran still look confused. Allura asks, "and what did this Marijuana do to receive such an odd alternative name?" 

Lances's mouth drops to the floor. "Did you not have weed in Altea?"

Coran twirls his epic mustache in his fingers. "Well, we had weeds. The kind that kill your gardens and make you want to set fire to the world. But based on your expression, weed is something entirely different." 

"Got that right my friend! Marijuana, Mary Jean, Pot, Weed, it's all the same thing: Cannabis. There are several ways to get it into your system. But basically, you can smoke it and you get really happy." 

All of the paladins are smart enough to figure out that this isn't exactly Lance's first time with marijuana. Pidge decides to play it dumb. "So, how exactly do you know that it makes you 'really happy'?" 

"Seriously? The Garrison is filled with it. Did you honestly not know that?" 

They all know. For a school of space exploration, it is not too big on keeping drugs out of the building. The issue came into play when the school conducted random drug tests. The punishment was always expulsion. What no one knew was that the random drug tests weren't so random. Lance had been the only one committed enough to figure out the Euler's formula the school used in order to product the days of which the school would test. The pattern was complicated, but he had been able to work out that, for every 20-25 fight simulations, he would able to fit in at least one joint, which was all he needed. 

"We knew." Keith answered. "But none of us were stupid enough to do it. We wanted to stay in school."

"Which," Lance points at him, "you failed to do." 

Before things devolve into a pissing match, which was likely on the horizon with these two, Shiro puts his hand on Keith's shoulder. The red paladin relaxes slightly when looking to his leader. 

"What does this have to do with anything Lance?" Shiro asked. 

"You guys remember that last planet we liberated from Zarkon?" The team nods. "Turns out, the place is a perfect environment for Cannabis. It grows like crazy there. So Blue and I headed back. Upon our arrival, the people insisted on throwing us a parade, but I decided. I told them that a friend of mine needed help and there was no time to waist with parades and gifts."

"How very self-less of you," Keith mutters under his breath. 

Lance ignores him and continues. "The people asked what they could do to help. They ended up giving me 10 plaints and...." he pulls a joint out of his pocket, "this bad boy, all ready to go!"

Team Voltron says nothing for a long while, just staring at the drug in Lance's hand. When they remind quiet, Lance walks up to Shiro and places it in his hands. "For you." 

Shiro inspects the white roll and says "you want me to get high?" 

"I want you to get a good night's sleep. If getting high is the way to do that, I'm all for it." 

The black paladin is not enthusiastic about this plan. Not that he has anything in particular against marijuana, he just doesn't want to be high. He'd never done it before and is nervous for his reaction to the drug, especially when being watched by his team mates. "I not gonna smoke," Shiro says as he tried to give it back to Lance. Before he can, Lance pulls out more joints and hands one to everyone in the lounge. 

"I knew you wouldn't smoke alone in front of everyone. And really, what fun is that? Almost as bad as drinking alone! So, the people gave me 30 joints. I figured we could split them over a couple of days as needed. And when that runs out, we've got 10 plants to take care of in for future harvesting. I'll see to it we don't run out. Hunk can get creative and bake it but whatever his little heart desires." He passes a joint to everyone sitting in the couch and pulls out a lighted from his pocket. "Time to light up!" 

"Wait!" Shiro leans to the side and takes the joint out of Pidge's mouth, then leans to Lance and snatched the lighter from him. "First of all, Pidge, you're 14. You're too young to get high and-" 

"Shiro, if I'm old enough to defend the universe, I'm old enough to smoke a joint. Give it back." As Pidge reaches for the joint, Shiro move his far arm further away from the minor. Pidge is in luck. The further Shiro leans out of Pidge's reach, the more his hand goes into Hunk's face. 

Hunk simply plucks the joint out of Shiro's grasp and gives it back to Pidge. "Relax Shiro. She'll be fine."

Pidge gives Shiro a toothy grin, as if to say,  _na na na-bo bo_! Shiro gives up. He knows she's right, like always. But still. She so young. Is he really about to let this happen? "But second," Shiro continues, "What happens when we're all high as a kite and the Galra attacks the castle?" 

Team Voltron starts to put their joints down in disappointment, especially Keith, whom has been looking forward to getting high again after so long but refuses to show it. But he's saved when Lance fires back, "what happens when we're in the middle of a battle and you have another panic attack? We're not stupid Shiro. We see it happen. The Black Lion stops responding and the rest of us are left to keep Voltron moving." 

Shiro is stunned into silence, as is the rest of the team. Sure, they'd all though something along the same lines, but none of them had had the courage to say it. Lance lets out a large sign, ashamed he hurt is friend. "Shiro, you know I respect you. I'll follow you into battle time and time again. You're our leader and I mean no disrespect. But you're nor sleeping and you're going to wear yourself out. You're going to break down and someone's going to get hurt. Again." Hunk shoots away slightly, not waiting to be the blame of this. "You've got to try something, man. Anything. For all our sakes." 

Shiro knows Lance is right. But is this really the best way to go about it?  _Well, if you can't beat them, join them._

Shiro brings the lighter to his face and puts the joint between his teeth. The smoke fills his lungs on the first intake but he can't keep it in. He ends up coughing all of it out. "Nope. Not doing that." He tries to hand the joint back. 

"Amateur," Lance huffs under his breath. He again gives the joint to Shiro and gives team Voltron a lesson on how to smoke a joint properly.

* * *

"You guys ever realize how big space is?" Shiro asks, his words sluggish. He's laying on the couch, with his back on the cushions, feet hanging off the back rest, and head hanging over the floor. It has been 40 minutes since Lance finished his lesson. Lance has finished his second joint and well into his third. All other members are on their second. The room smells heavily of burnt cannabis, which Allura and Coran both complain about. Apparently, marijuana had no effect on the alien race, so they became the default babysitters of the five sky-high paladins whom were all scattered around the couches and floor in various positions. The humans took turns passing around Allura and Coran's joints, even when all have their own in their hand. Hunk is 90% sure he accidentally passed off his own as Allura's but at this point no one would really care. 

"Yeah," Pidge responds. "It's like, space. You know? It's big." 

"So big," Lance agrees. He lets out a slight giggle. 

"You know what's weird?" Keith says. 

"Yeah." Hunk responds. "There are no Pringles on this ship." The whole group stops and five sets of eyes slowly turn to look at the Alteans.  

"Do we have any Pringles?" Shiro asks, drawing out a giggle on the last word. 

As much as Allura is pleased to see Shiro finally relaxed, she's annoyed by the smell in her castle and it's starting to get to her. Even still, the five paladins look content. She's never admit it to them when they're sober, but they really are adorable when they are bonding like this. "I haven't the faintest idea as to what a Pringle is, Shiro." 

"Can we get some?" Pidge offers, as if that clears things up for the Altan. 

"I'll get right on it!" Coran offers. 

Allura looks as him confused. "You know what a Pringle is?" 

"No. But at this point, I don't think they do either." He leave the lounge to retrieve anything that might resembled a Pringle. Maybe it was a tool kit for some kind?

As they await the salty chips that will never arrive, Keith continues his train of thought. "What's weird is that there's weed on an alien planet, but no humans. Like, where are we?" All of the Voltron paladins burst into giggle fits, including Keith. 

Pidge points at the group. "We're right here, dummy." 

Allura stops trying to follow the conversation. They stopped making since a long time ago. 

When Coran comes back with a tool kit, the paladins, especially Hunk, look disappointed. "This not Pringles," he whines. 

"Yes it is!" Coran defense. "These are Altean Pringles. Fun to build something with!" 

Keith shakes his head. "We want Earth Pringles." 

To show his agreement, Lance uses his hands to imitate the duck face made when two Pringles are put together upside. The Alteans legitimately have no idea what is happening, but Lance's duck face did give Coran an idea. 

"Okay!" Coran decides to try again. "I'll come back with real Pringles." He turns to Allura and whispers "make them more confused!" He turns on his heals and walks out the door, hoping Allura can get them to smoke more so they can forget about the Pringles. 

After 20 minutes of more meaningless giggles and the room becoming even more smoke filled, Coran comes back into the lounge, but he's not alone. He has a duck in his hands. Where the fluffy yellow bird came from, Allura hasn't the slightest clue. What is happening to her team?! 

"I found your Pringle!" the mustached man announces and places the animal in the middle of the U couch. 

"Coran, this is  _not_  a good idea," the princess warns. 

But that's not true. The Paladins forget all about their Pringles and start caring for the duck. 

The team begins to incorporate the duck into their family. They assign roles for how each member is related to the feathered animal. Shiro becomes the duck's dad and names it Ducky. Lance is the older brother and attempts to teach Ducky how to smoke a joint, which Allura puts a stop to. Hunk becomes the fun uncle and wants to bake Ducky cookies, but Coran put the kitchen on lock down. Keith becomes the cousin whom Ducky would rather spend time with. No ones wants to spend time with their siblings after all! Pidge becomes the little sister and starts asking Ducky for advice. Ducky does her best to help, but her advice is quack! 

After a couple of hours, many burnt joints, several giggle fits, and a new family member, the team starts to show signs of awaited sleep. Keith yawns, causing the whole team to repeat the contagious action. Shrio's yawns so large, it would put a lion's yawn to shame. When he's done, his eyes remain closed and his head lulls to his chest. "Shiro," the princess nudges him slightly. "Are you ready for bed?" Half asleep already, the black paladin nods his head. Rather then drag the man back to his sleeping quarters, Allura and Coran help him lay down on the couch and give him a pillow and blanket. They do the same four more time, making sure that each defender of the universe is comfortable in the lounge. 

With Ducky curled up beside him, Shiro is truly relaxed for the first time in over a year, since the Galra first took him and the Holts as prisoners. Finally, Shiro sleeps without fear of nightmares. 

Who know what a wonders a little cannabis, a family, and a fluffy yellow duck could work? 


End file.
